7. writing an essay

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Contents Making a caseHow to write simple paragraphHow to write more complicated paragraph Good literature essay is ... - Reasonable- Convincing- Persuasive EVIDENCE so, ideas have to be proved beyond reasonable doubt How to write simple paragraph statement useevidence secure and convincing Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth has lively and playful manners. -> just an assertion useevidence Elizabeth has lively and playful manners. She tells her friends about Darcy's refusal to dance with her with great spirit, because, as Jane Austen remarks, she 'had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous'. -> secure and convincing The Woman in White Wilkie Collins heightens suspense in the scene where Marian eaves-drops on the Count and Sir Percival, by putting her in the most uncomfortable and dangerous position. (statement) She is on a ledge so narrow she cannot straighten her feet, a row of flowerpots is on the outer edge, ready to fall and give her away, She is nearly beneath Madame Fosco's window, and it is raining hard. (evidence) Developing the idea 1. Why ? 2. Compare Hopkins's language is extremely violent, full of physical strain with overtones of pain and punishment.(statement) For example, the words 'lashed', 'rod', 'sweep', 'hurl' and 'trod' all occur within seven lines in stanza two. (evidence) The subject of the stanza itself is spiritual experience; so it seems that Hopkins uses violent physical language to make his spiritual experience more vivid and real to us, to convey his religious feelings more directly to the reader. (developing the idea by asking the question 'Why'). Huck is soft-hearted and feels sympathy for other people. (statement) We see this when he witness the cruel punishment of the King and the Duke, and says: 'I was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals, it seemed like I couldn't ever feel any hardness against them any more in the world'. (evidence) The fact that Huck feels this way about the King and the Duke, who have previously robbed and betrayed him and sold his best friend into slavery, shows that Huck is more than soft-hearted: he forgives people quickly, and hates to see cruelty or suffering whether the punishment is deserved or not. (developing the idea by statement and evidence) Falstaff has a cynical attitude to honour(statement). Falstaff says: 'What is honour, a word'. To him, the pursuit of honour only leads to death:'who hath it? he that died a Wednesday' (evidence). Falstaff, then, takes the view that life and pleasure you can physically feel are worth more than an idea like honour which you cannot feel because it is only a 'word' (developing the idea) While for Hotspur honour is the highest ideal of his life. (statement) When defeated by hal, he says: 'I better brook the loss of brittle life. Than those proud titles thou hast won of me'. (evidence) He feels comtempt for life which he describes as 'brittle', and he prefers something he thinks of as higher:ideals of fame or the 'proud titles' which are his honour. (developing the idea) So their attitudes to honour show us that Falstaff and Hotspur have opposite philosophies: Falstaff will only trust something he can feel, eat or drink; Hotspur, on the other hand, will only admire something he cannot feel, an ideal of honour which he considers to be higher than the everyday facts of life. (developing the two ideas together) Henry IV State+Evidence+Development of the idea+Developing the two ideas together = Accurate, complex and good essay Don't retell the story Q&A Thank you Making a Case Literature is personal relationship with text. There is no single 'right' answerNot Right or Wrong, Just Good or Bad Paragraph Basic unit of Essay Deal with one subject How to write more complicated paragraph